Fordham University voted to retract Bill Cosby’s honorary degree it bestowed upon him in 2001.
The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to cut ties with the comedian because of the multiple sexual assault allegations made against him.
The school had honored him with the degree for “enhancing black representation in American television.”
(Photo: Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)
“The University has taken this extraordinary step in light of Mr. Cosby’s now-public court depositions that confirm many of the allegations made against him,” Fordham President Joseph M. McShane said in a letter to students. (RELATED: New Bill Cosby Accuser: He Made Me Put Oatmeal On My Face And Act Like A Queen)
“By his own admission, Mr. Cosby’s sexual exploitation of women was premeditated and ongoing. Equally appalling is his longtime strategy of denigrating the reputations of women who accused him of such actions.” (RELATED: Bill Cosby In Deposition: I Gave Women Drugs So I Could Have Sex With Them)
“That Mr. Cosby was willing to drug and rape women for his sexual gratification, and further damage those same women’s reputations and careers to obscure his guilt, hurt not only his victims, but all women, and is beyond the pale.”
The school has never taken away anyone’s honorary degree before. (RELATED: Donald Trump Is Not A Bill Cosby Fan)